Rail-joint.



W. E. RANSOM.

RAIL JOINT. APPLIQA'I'ION FILED JUNE 21, 1909.

41am 1 9 I Patented Dec. 7, 1909.

. hereinafter as the description of the inven- P WILLIAM E. RANSOI K, OF NORTH YARD/IA, "\VASHINGTGN.

RAIL-J0me. 1

Specification of LettersPatenn,

Fat-carted Dec.

Application filed June 21, 1909. Serial No. 503,509.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. RANSOM, a citizen of the United States, residingat North Yakima, in the county of Yakima and State of Vashington, have invented a new and useful Rail-Joint, of which the following is a specification.

'I he objects of the invention, are, generally, the provision in a merchantab e form 5 ing being provided with oppositely disposed buttresses of novel and improved construction adapted to reinforce the casing and to make more secure and rigid the union between the ends of the rail sections; other and further objects being made manifest tion. progresses. v

The inventlon consists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts herein-' "after described, delineated 1n the accomthe device, it being underst0od,'that, within the scope of what hereinafter is thus claimed, divers changes in the form, proportions, size, and minor details of the structure may be made wlthontdeparting from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention. I

Similar numerz ls of reference are employed to denote corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the draW-' mgs.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 shows my invention in side elevation; Fi 2 is a top plan thereof; and Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section.

In the accompanying drawings, I have shown the adjacent ends of a pair of rail sec us 1 united by the device of my in ventlon. The invention is adapted to be used with rails of any weight; and of standard construction, but, in order to make the descri 'ition of the invention plain, and to render the claims dciinitand certain, I will state that the rail shown in the accom 'ianying drawings comprises a ball 2, a web 3, mains unsupported.

and a flange 4.,

v I i t t As shown'most clearly in" Dr I .trcsses 9 and it) are pvtaun'dal infforni.

of the head'of a spike.

The invention 'inclu des a casing denoted generally in Fig. 3' by thejnnmeralj This casing 5 is adapted to rece ve telescopically.

and to inclose, the adjacent ends o'f ai pair of rail seetlons; The casing.fi comprisesa hollow ins-e t) which isjadaptedto'incloseclosely the flange a of the rail. it being understood that sufficient space sleft between the flange 4*of't'hd rail and the inner walls of the base ti, so that the rail may move readily, longitudinally, "within the casing,

The web 3 of therail is incloscd upon either side by ribs 7. the said ribs 7 being provided at their upper extremities, with heads 8 adapted to lit snugly against the lower ace of the ball 2 of the rail. The ribs T take the form of flat plates substantially coextensive in length with the base 6. t 3 v Intermediate its ends. the casingfi is provided with oppositely disposed buttresses 9 and 10. These buttresses are pennant integral with the based d theribs 7d. and ex-- tendslightly 'abbve the" upper'faces ()f the heads 8, into supporting conta'ct' with 'the 86 lower face of the Yb'a'llfl of tli'erail; Qnc of these buttresses, denote't by-the numeral 10, is provided at. its nppc 'rrmitv, with an upstanding lug ll which.

A yfshown in Fig. 3, engages laterally 'the b lfl'ofthe all. 35

2 'the butlTpon their upper" "faces at their'oiiteredges, the buttresses are provided rthf seats adapted to reason. the outstand ng portion 90 The base (5.; upon cither'si jle of the bub t'yes 'a and 10,is provitlcd"\"vitl1 spike holes 12, disposedout of'aliuemcntwith ear-bother, transversely oftlie'i ie. in brder thatthe spikes which are inserted into'them nnty not engage a. common grain in the tie, causing the same to split. If desired, the spike holes 12 may be surrounded by seats .20, whereby the body of the device will not interfere with the head of a slcclgc-lnuunnr when the spikes which are inserted in ti 3 apertures 12 are being driven to place.

The device may be mounted in a variety of ways. lVhcn it is desired to emp oy the same to form a suspended joint .J-ttlllQtl, spikes may be driven into the apertures 12 which are disposed on either side of the buttresses t) and it). in such case. the central portion of the device, defined by the buttresses, re- 119 When this construe tion is carried out, it obvious that the butcasing slid to inclose the second rail section 4 upper extremities of the buttresses are in con which they are inelosed.

tresses serve to strengthen greatly the device at its point of greatest strain, namely, the point midway between the supports. The

tact with the ball 2 of the rail, and serve to 1 receive fairly, and to aid in distributing, the weight of the passing trains, the pyramidal form of the buttresses giving them great i strength, and adapting them peculiarly to fulfil this function. The lug 11 which upstands from one of the buttresses, servs to reinforce and to steady the rail upon the outside of the track. This is of peculiar impor- Y tance upon curves, the inertia of the moving train tending, upon 'a curve, to throw it out--" ward.

. If desired, a joint tie may be introduced directly beneath the buttresses 9 and 10, and in such case, a spike may be driven upon i either side of the device, the head of this spike extending inward and registering with l the seats 14. v

In applying the device the casing 5 is slid upon pne of the rail sections until the end of the said section protrudes from the device.

alinement with-the first rail section, and the until the adjacent ends of the two sections are disposed between the buttresses 9 and 10, as shown in Fig. 2, The device may then be attached to the ties in the usual manner. The buttresses 9 and 10, being disposed preferably upon either side of the ends of the rail sections, serve to reinforce the union between said sections, and to reduce to a minimum, the possibility of the lateral separation of the extremities of the rail sections, due to a fracture of the device in My invention serves not only to strengthen the union between the two railsends, but at the same time, to do away with low-joints, thus maintaining the grade of the tracks. The rails are closely inclosed laterally by the device and adequate reinforcement against fracture due to lateral stress is provided in the buttresses 9 and 10. The device, therefore,'will-obviously tend to'maintain the track in alineinent, as well as at grade.

My invention, although simple. in construction results in a rail joint well adapted to withstand the wear and tear incident to a heavy freight, or high speed passenger tratfic.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to protect by Let- T ters l,atent,is:

]. A deyicc ofthe class described com prising a casing arranged to receive telescopically, and to inclose, the web and flange of a rail the said casing heing n'onded, interniedrate its ends, with oppositely disposed,

; sloping buttresses, extending to the edges of the casing and provided upon their upper faces, attheir outeredges, with inwardly extending c lepressions -const1tut1ng seats located within the contour of the buttresses and arranged to receive the outstanding por-' tion of a spike head, the casing being'intact beneath the depressions. The other rail section is then brought into 2. A device of the class described comprising a casing arranged to receive tele scopiea lly,;and to inclose, the web and flange of a rail, the said casing being provided inte mediate its ends, with oppositely disposed. py'rainidd buttresses, each having its apex extended iperiorly and laterally beyond the casing to engage the ball of a rail, the buttresses extending to the edges of the casing and being provided upon their faces at their outer edges, with inwardly extending depressions located within the contour of the buttresses and arranged to receive the outstanding portion of a spike head, the casing being intact beneath the depre. .ions.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, Lhave hereto ath'xed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

' \VTLLTAM E. RANSOM. Witnesses J. A. LoUnoN, A. B. CLINE. 

